MouseHunt: Roslean leans on Larry to learn
by alrrg
Summary: When a new "MouseHunter" took up the King of the Gnawnian Kingdom's offer on the job to hunt mouse, they would usually expect it to be as simple and straightforward as regular mouse-hunting. However, in the land of Gnawnia, what seems like a minute task of hunting a mouse, may not be so simple after all, as Roslean soon finds out. *Credits to HitGrab for any property references. *
1. Chapter 00: Prologue - Beginning

**Chapter 00: The Beginning**

When word come forth about a land that has a ruling King who is willing to pay people to hunt mice, you bet that many people took up the offer to head towards such a land to venture. Because who am I kidding to say that one would be in their right mind to turn down such a simple task? I mean, how hard can it be just to catch a mouse? Just get a simple spring trap, lay down some food, and wait for that sucker to come right up to the trap and _snap_, just like that.

Or so I thought as the ship that I am aboard inches closer towards the land of the Gnawnian Kingdom, or the Kindgom of Gnawnia if you want to put it that way. Even before the ship touches ground with the Harbour, I knew I was gravely mistaken at how simple the job will be, as seagulls, but with slight facial features of a mouse's ear and two bucked front teeth, constantly dive bombed towards a few other "hunters-to-be" on deck, at the sight of whatever grub that the poor target happened to have in their hands.

Once the ship was docked, knights in armour started boarding the ship in squadrons., and lined themselves near the exiting plank that led down and off the ship. For some odd reason, all of the knights seems to resemble each other, like as though they were twins or clones of the one standing next to either of themselves. I puffed a quick breath of laughter as the thought of the poor parents having to take care of them amused me slightly.

Each of the knights started calling out names and the respective person started to step through the crowd and followed the knight off the ship. One by one, the crowd that I was standing amongst got smaller and smaller, until I was the only one remaining on the ship. However, I took notice that one of the knights was remaining as well. After much contemplation about what should I do amidst my confusion in this unfamiliar situation, I walked up towards it, with intention to ask if it happened to know of any arrangements for me. But right before I could utter the first word, the knight said:

"Indeed, I am the Knight that has been assigned to you, Roslean."

The sudden speech caught me off-guard, and I was stunned for a second, before he continued:

"The reason why we have not headed down is because the horse carriage to the Kingdom castle has not arrived, but it will shortly, in about 15 minutes. "

This led to some great discomfort. Was this knight a psychic or something? Does he have some supernatural ability to read people's mind or hearts? Even though I, myself, do not believe in magic, coming to a foreign land whereby one could, as a figure of speech, get rich from catching mice, made the "magic" hunch inside me ring a little. But whatever it is, my instinct was in kicking in as my left hand was slowly creeping into my left back pocket, where my pocket knife happens to reside, in the event that this knight tries anything funny.

However, the Knight seems to be aware of what I was doing, started laughing before showing his palm towards me, and said:

"Do not be alarmed; I am not psychic nor do I possess any magical ability to read your thoughts. I was merely making a guess at the kind of questions that might come across in your head due to the unfamiliar setting and situation. You can call me Larry. I am, but, a friendly knight who will be accompanying you throughout your role in service to the King. "

He then extended his hand towards me, in the position of a handshake.

I, still being cautious, kept my left hand in my back pocket, with the pocket knife within my grasp, just in case, and shook Larry's hand with my right.

"Call me Roslean, which you're already doing. And please don't try that ever again. As thoughtful as that might've been, it still had a tint of you being a total freak, and if it was someone else that was more _trigger-finger_, you might've been dead where you'd stand. "

Larry laughed, "Worry not, as I am merely a machine that is invented by the King's brilliant minds working together. Every Hunter that is in service to the King has a Larry accompanying them to assist with the reporting of the mice caught, and handing out the appropriate rewards from the King to the Hunter themselves.

"So, you're like the middle man that facilitates whatever necessary between the King himself and whichever Hunter that each one of you are assigned to?", I asked, just to get a general understanding of what Larry's role was.

"Yes, you can put it that way. Even though our main role is reporting the Hunter's progress to the King, we are also here to provide adequate information that might assist the Hunter in their endeavour. However, not all information will be provided upfront and only certain information may have certain _criteria_ before we are allowed to pass it on to the hunters, after being vetted by the King's brilliant minds. ", Larry explained.

As I try to absorb every thing that Larry has just said, some parts were still not quite fitting together, Like, if the King had such brilliant minds working for him, could they not have come up with a solution for this mice infestation? I mean, surely they must be quite well-versed that they are able to effectively make robotic clones and assign them to hunters to hunt mice. Maybe the exhaustion from the long journey was still hindering my ability to fully digest the new information, as I rubbed my temples in an attempt to relax myself.

Soon, the horse carriage arrived at the docks and was waiting for us. Larry signalled me to follow him, which I did, as we boarded the carriage. To my surprise, there was no one driving (?) the horse carriage. It was a single horse with a 2-person seat carriage latched onto it. The moment Larry and I boarded the carriage and closed the door, it just started moving on its own.

"So, where are we heading now? I would sure like to get a good place to rest after that long ship ride. ", as I lifted my legs and rested it on a ledge, opposite of my seat.

"We are heading to the King's castle, in the Town of Gnawnia. You will need to attend the orientation first, along with your other fellow "hunters-to-be", before you are allowed to do anything within this Kingdom.", Larry answered.

"Orientation? For what? On how to catch a mouse for the King? I mean, come on, Larry. How hard can it be to catch a mouse?", I yawned. Clearly the exhaustion from the journey was taking a toll on me, as I try to desperately stay awake.

Larry, not amused by my sarcasm, answered: "In this land, the mice here are unlike any other mice that you might have encountered back in your home land. The orientation is to equip each Hunter with the basic operations of their role in service to the King. "

"Fine. I get it. I'll attend that orientation to see what's so special about hunting mice. In the mean time, I'm going to take a short nap because I'm way too exhausted from the long journey and you bombarding me with so many information. Just wake me up when we get there. ", I replied in a surrendering tone and I leaned my head against the window, and my eyes slowly shutting.

"Roslean. We have arrived at the King's castle. ", Larry said as he shook me awake.

It was evident that we were no longer outside, but in some kind barrack or horse shed, I could not tell clearly. What I could tell was that the place was dark, with flame torches barely lighting the walls and the path ahead. With my eyes half-open and my mind half-awake, I simply followed Larry as he walked into a hall. In the middle of the hall, there was a gathering or some sort, with some faces that I found familiar. Must have been from the same ship that brought us to this land. I assume other "Hunters-to-be" from other ship was gathered here as well. To the front, it was a throne but it was empty. Probably the King's throne since it was the only seat I could see in this hall. And to the left and right sides, several Larry knights were just lined up, in attention. If you had not known of the Larry Knights, one would have assumed that they were just statues because of how rigid they were standing at attention.

"This must've been the so-called orientation that Larry was talking about just now. ", I thought to myself.

Suddenly, the door that was leading to this hall closed by itself, which mysteriously happened to silence the chatter from the crowd of "Hunters-to-be". The lights from the chandelier started to dimmed down slightly and a voice could be heard from around the room. It was not a single source of sound, but it was echoing through the hall itself like an echo chamber.

"Welcome to you hunters. Welcome to the land of Gnawnia. You have all gathered here in pursuit of the grand task that I have issued, which is to hunt mice. Throughout this land, there are mice that may be willing to compromise with you in order to retain its life, but there are also other mice that may not go down without a fight. You will encounter various species of mice, some which are as common as the ones from lands that you have arrived from, and others which are exotic-looking, but may also be the very last image you see. "

As the voice continued, it was obvious that there was a certain tension in the air, which was understandable since from the land that I came from, mice were simply the breeds or white, grey, or the usual sewer rodent-type. But to know that some mice in this land, might actually be lethal, is enough to stir up a little fear and unease.

"There are certain things that you must adjust to in this land. First and foremost, each Hunter will be assigned their very own Hunter's Horn, in which you sound in attempt to bring mice to your trap. Your Larry knight who is assigned to you will then record down the results of your hunts, and report back your endeavour to me, and I will reward you accordingly. Secondly, the money that you have brought from your homeland is worth nothing here. But worry not, I have provided each of you with a starting fund, which has been handed to your respective Larry knight. And lastly, any Hunter that is found to violate any rules that affects your mouse-hunting task, will have their title revoked, and banished from this land. "

Then, there was silence. The lighting in the room returned back to how it was before the whole ground-breaking event occurred and every Larry knight started to head toward their respective Hunters assigned, and made their way out of the hall.

"The heck was that all about?", I asked, as Larry and I were walking out of the hall and back to where the horse carriage was supposedly at.

"That was the orientation, Roslean. Did you manage to catch everything that was mentioned? If you are still unsure of anything, I could try my best to provide you with the relevant answers, if I am allowed to. ", Larry replied with a wink.

I clearly knew what he was referring. He mentioned that the relevant answers may be provided at certain condition, which he mentioned during our first few exchanges at the docks.

"You know what? Forget about that first. Today's been nothing but a train-wreck of changes. So, forget about everything for now, and just let me do something as simple enough for me to actually comprehend what I was tasked to do, to hunt a god damn mouse. "

"Of course, Roslean. However, you will need to travel to the Meadow first for your training on hunting mouse. "

"**MY WHAT?** **Did you just say "training"? I, need to train, to HUNT A MOUSE?**", I shrieked.

"Yes, indeed. But could you lower your voice a little? The walls in the castle are effective as an echo chamber. ", Larry said, with each hands covering each sides of his ear.

I think I might have lost at that moment. Actually, I think I actually did. Not only was everything unfamiliar, it basically felt like my whole world was flipped upside-down, inside-out. I was not sure of what else to think, or what was I even thinking. I tried to calm myself down, taking rounds of deep breathing. In, out, in, out, in and out. I told myself mentally, that this was a new environment. I came here in order to find a better job than what I had back in my homeland. And now that I am here, this is still too early to call it quits. I decided to just blindly accept whatever that was coming for me, sticks and stones, fire and ice, storm or flood.

"Okay, Larry. Here's what I'm going to do. And I need you to listen very closely. ", I said in a rather soft tone, like a whisper, but just barely louder and under my breath.

Larry leaned in, trying to catch whatever words that was coming next.

"I, will try to forget whatever past that I had. Be it my common sense of hunting mice back at my homeland, or just the physical concept of how mouse-hunting should be. I'm now going in, in short, blind-faith. I'll try my best to accept however things work in this land. But, if I ever return to that old mindset of mind, I need you to remind me that I'm now in a place where you have at least a thousand and one siblings with the same face as you. "

I could clearly tell that Larry was not sure of how to respond to that, especially the last portion, but he tried his best to keep a straight face and not laugh while replying: "Of course, Roslean. I will duly remind you when the time comes. Though I do hope that it will not happen too often. ".

"Thank you, Larry. ", I placed my hands on his shoulder, as I let out a deep sigh.

Larry and I continued walking down the path until we were back where the horse carriage was left. But instead of the horse carriage, there were two horses waiting for us.

Larry took notice of my confusion and said: "The horse carriage is too much of an inconvenience for travelling to some of the future destination. So we will each ride on a horse of our own. ".

"Well, okay. That actually does make sense, and I feel a little glad that there are actually certain things in this land that do make sense. "

Larry smirked, "Do not let that get to your head though. Because the upcoming destination might just crush that expectation of yours. "

"Where are we headed anyway? The King mentioned that there was some funds provided to kick-start our mouse-hunting task during the orientation just now. "

"Indeed, there is. And the Trapsmith's Shop in Meadow will be where we are headed next. "

"Great. I can't wait to get my hands on some traps and get right down to actual business, so that I can regain back my sanity. "

Larry and I, both on horses, made our way towards the Meadow. As much I said I was eager to get down to perform some actual mouse-hunting, little did I know that I had one foot in to a whole new world, whereby one would not simply believe, and can only be experienced first-hand.


	2. Chapter 01: Meadow - Knead the Dough

**Chapter 01: Meadow**

The place that we were headed, the Meadows, was about 10 minutes of horse-riding, because apparently, it was literally the piece of green land no bigger than the size of the Town of Gnawnia itself, just right outside the Town of Gnawnia. In fact, it was so near that I felt like a fool, expecting that it was about an hour or two ride away. However, what we did notice was that there was a long queue to what seemed like a makeshift stand or something. I could clearly tell the queue were composed of new Hunters like me, fresh from the orientation. How could I tell? So far, there has not been any other person being followed by a knight that looks exactly like Larry.

"Welcome to the Meadow, Roslean. Here is where you will have to undergo some basic training on how to catch mice in this land. But before that, we need to park our horses and get yourself equipped. ", Larry said while getting off his horse.

"Oh great. And my sixth instinct tells me that we need to get something from the person at that makeshift stand that has a queue of at least 30 Hunters in line, and it'll probably be another 2 hours just to reach our turn. ", I replied in a grumpy tone as I made my way off my horse.

"In that case, we should make haste or you might need to add an extra 30 minutes to that. ", said Larry as he look around for a suitable place to anchor our horses. Once he found what he was looking for, he tugged his horse along and I followed accordingly. After securing our horses to what seemed like a relatively-stable directional sign, both of us joined the queue. And for the record, I was right about spending at least 2 hours in the queue before it was our turn to reach the counter of the makeshift stand.

* * *

To my surprise, it was an armoured knight servicing at the stand, and judging from the familiar emblem that I seem to vaguely recall seeing on one of the banners back at the hall where we had the "Hunter's Orientation", this knight must be one of the King's men. The armoured knight opened his palm in a gesture that he was expecting something to be handed to him, which Larry then took what seemed to be a letter from his sling-pouch, which I had failed to notice it was there in the first place.

After what seemed like a thorough inspection of the letter, taking about 5 whole minutes, the armoured knight kept the letter underneath his counter, and took two wooden planks but with different "items" on top of them, and placed them side-by-side. On the left half of the table, from the view facing the armoured knight, was a fairly recognisable and basic spring trap mechanism, with the wooden plank as a base. And on the right half of the table, was a bowl? Or was it like a miniature tub, or something like that. And there was some liquid inside of it, which seems thermally hot, judging from the small steam that was coming out of it.

"Roslean, here are the starting choices of traps that each new Hunter will pick from. You have the High Tension Spring Trap on your left, and the Mouse Hot Tub Trap on your right. ", Larry spoke.

"Wait. Why the heck is there even a Hot Tub for a mouse, as a trap? Is this an April Fools' Joke that I'm not getting at? ", I sarcastically replied Larry. In my mind, I was literally going bananas. A Hot Tub. For a mouse. Like, logically speaking, that's not even going to catch a damn fly. And the High Tension Spring just looked like a simple spring trap, like the ones back in my homeland. Effectively proven to work. If I had a choice between a hard-fact-proven trap and something that looked like it was meant to trick newbie for easy gold, the answer was as bright of the sunlight from Mercury.

"No, the Mouse Hot Tub Trap is not a joke. In fact, it has higher chance to attract a mouse, due to it being more visibly appealing, but suffers being at a lower mouse-trapping power as compared to the High Tension Spring Trap.", Larry explained.

I was about to go full hysterical until for a split second, looking straight into Larry's face reminded me of one cold-hard fact. The fact that this is a different place other than my homeland. Things may have worked their way back there, but over here, here is different. That reminder forced me to swallow whatever nasty remark that I had ready in my cannon of a mouth, down my throat, and I took a deep breath. So deep, that my chest muscle felt a sharp pain from being puffed out far too much. Then suddenly, a wild thought came into my head. So far, every knowledge that I have known about mouse-hunting, which I have brought along from my homeland, has been turned on its head. So, what would happen if I were to go against what old me would have deemed as common knowledge? A spark went off and I smirked a little, that even Larry's took a concerned look at me.

"I've decided. I'll take the Mouse Hot Tub Trap. ", I declared while still smirking.

The armoured knight nodded his head in acknowledgement, took away the High Tension Spring Trap and kept it back underneath his counter. Then, his hand returned back up in a clenched fist, delicately placing 3 pieces of cheese on the counter with a pinching manner.

"And these are the starting Cheddar cheese pieces that you will use. ", Larry added.

"Huh? 3 pieces of Cheddar cheese only? That sure ain't gonna last long, you know. ", I responded while gently picking up the pieces off the counter. "Also, is there a much more adequate place that I can keep these cheese so that it won't melt underneath this blazing sun? "

"Why yes, you can keep them in this pouch. ", as Larry removed the sling-pouch from him and handed it over to me. "This is for Hunters to keep whatever equipment that they own: Cheese, trap weapon, trap base, and other collectables. Also, you can return back to buy more cheese if you run out of it later, but definitely not anytime soon. "

"THIS puny sling-pouch that has the depth similar to my pant's side pocket? ", disbelievingly I replied, as I removed the tub component of the Mouse Hot Tub, which surprisingly, the liquid content in the tub mysteriously draining itself the moment I lifted it off from the wooden base, and dropped it into the sling-pouch, expecting it to take on the full-capacity and shape of the tub itself. But suddenly, like as though there was a black hole residing within the sling-pouch itself, the tub just went right in and down into it. Not even the physical shape of the sling-pouch changed. You bet that my jaw dropped when I saw it just faded into the sling-pouch's dark depth.

"This sling-pouch, like myself, was put together by the King's brilliant minds. It will never be full, and it will never change, no matter how many contents you place into it. Of course, not all contents will fit into it, of course. Think of it, like an interdimensional storage box. ", Larry exclaimed with great pride. I could clearly tell that Larry was clearly having his moment of fun being more knowledgeable about whatnot, which, is befitting of the situation. However, what was more surprising was my attitude towards that explanation. For one part, I was surprised that I was able to comprehend most of what Larry had explained. But for another, I was actually calm and not in any state of rejection.

"Show off.", I replied with a smug, as I continued to place the wooden base and the Cheddar pieces into the sling-pouch, after which, the armoured knight at the counter saluted to us, and Larry and I saluted back before walking off from the stand.

* * *

Did I mention how the Meadow was basically an area of land that had simple greenery grass, and that the whole piece of land was essentially flat? Yeah, because, as a gentle reminder, that was what the Meadow is. No matter where I looked, it was just flat. No high-grounds, no special-looking trees that might be a home for some mice family, no uneven-earth area that might have looked like an opening to an elaborate underground network of tunnels, nothing. Just flat.

"This's just plain dumb. There's no sign of any potential mouse-housing area in this area. How am I suppose to attract any mouse, when this land is as flat as a walkway? ", exasperatedly I whined.

"Technically, you can try to attract a mouse only via the sound of your Hunter's horn. ", Larry answered.

"Oh right. The King did mention about that during the orientation back in the castle. What's that anyway?"

"It is a special horn that each Hunter has. Base on my information, when the horn is ready, it will have a gentle glow surrounding it and has a slight warmth to the touch. "

"When the horn is... ready? What does that even mean? ", as I searched in the sling-pouch. Surprisingly, it was like an instinct as I placed my hand into the sling-pouch and started to fumble around before I grasped onto what seemed like a long metal neck of some kind. I pulled it out and it was a horn. Well, more of a trumpet-looking than a horn. Maybe both equipment belongs to the same musical instrument family group or something. I clearly am not a musician if you could not tell. And just like Larry had mentioned, there was a visible glow surrounding it, which was visible even under the broad daylight, and it felt a little warm in my palm as well, which is not to the level that holding it for several hours straight would burn your hands, but I digress.

"Well, why not give it a shot? ", Larry smiled eagerly. "But you'll want to make sure that you have your trap baited, and ready to go."

And with that, I choose a much more auspicious-looking spot, just like every area that is 3 steps away from where we were, placed down the wooden plank as the base, with the Mouse Hot Tub on top of it, which, the moment I placed the Hot Tub on top of the wooden plank, the tub just became filled with what I assume was the same steamy liquid as I first saw before leaving the armoured knight stand. After the trap was setup, I picked one piece of Cheddar cheese and placed it right in front of the tub, where there were still some space available of the wooden base. Out of instinct, I withdrew 5 steps backed from where I had left the trap setup, and laid down low, with my belly on the ground, just to try my best to hide myself. To be fair, it looked kind-of stupid doing that, given that the grass in the Meadow was about as tall as a grown adult's medial malleolus bone. And I pity poor Larry that had to follow me in "staying low" but I am willing to bet his was more eager to see the results of my first hunt.

* * *

"Too-toooh", the trumpet sounded as I blew. A split second later, there was stillness in the air. Like as though we were dislodged from space and time temporarily as an event was about to happen in this quantum state. It was so still, there was no winds, no grass rattling, almost absolute silence that I could faintly hear my own heartbeat up in my head. I was about to say something to Larry when suddenly I heard something rustling through the short grass around where I had placed the Mouse Hot Tub. Out from the grass, popped a mouse that had fur as white as snow. It took a sniff of the Cheddar cheese before taking it off my trap setup and nibbled on it, before climbing into the tub. Humorously, it looked like it was enjoying the mildly warm soak, with the Cheddar cheese in its paw, and just leaning back against the walls of the tub.

"Congratulations on your very first successful catch, and your very first White Mouse ever recorded. ", Larry said to me as we both walked over to the trap.

"What? You mean that counts as a catch? It's just there, enjoying the spa treatment. Only that that's missing is a massage session after the soak. ", I replied in an unsatisfied tone.

"Yes, of course. Because the technical definition is to first part, attract a mouse, and second, have it in your trap as you return to it. To which, the events that had just happened satisfies both criteria. ", explained Larry. Which, to me, does actually make sense if we were to simply judge by those two criteria. I mean, at the end of the day, a catch is a catch, so as long as I get rewarded, nothing is in violation.

"Okay, fine, I get it, oh technical Larry. ", I fling my hand backwards in a dismissal notion to Larry, as I bent down to the White Mouse whom was still enjoying the luxurious treatment. I gently touched its head and tried my absolute gentlest method of scratching it, as I sure would not want to be missing a finger just barely a day in to this whole mouse-hunting business. The White Mouse let out a small squeak as it did not show any signs of discomfort nor irritation. "Well, aren't you having a moment of your life, you little bugger?", I whispered to it.

* * *

After a few minutes, the White Mouse seemed to had enough of the soak and had finished the Cheddar cheese as well, which was originally from my trap setup, and was climbing out of the hot tub.

"So, what do I do with it now?", I asked Larry.

"Well, the mouse has been dowsed with the magic of the Hunter's horn, and will no longer be attracted to any trap when a Hunter's horn sounds. ", Larry answered. "And since it is still alive, you may let it return back to the land. "

"Wait. I thought the whole point of my job is to hunt mouse. Wouldn't letting it go back to roam be counter-productive to what my role requires? ", I questioned.

"Not necessary. You did hunt a mouse, as per the King's instructions as a Hunter. But also do note that that was all the King's instructions for your role. It was to "Hunt", not to "Exterminate". Removing an entire species from the land may damage the ecosystem and bring more harm and destruction instead. ", Larry elaborated.

"Huh. Never thought of it that way. ", I shrugged. It was a response that was completely understandable. And further more, having such explicit job scope only made it more easier to not worry about not doing my job and risk the banishment, which was once again, mentioned during the orientation.

"And one more thing. The King has been informed about your successful catch and has awarded you with 100 Gold. ", Larry added.

"100 Gold for just a simple White Mouse?! Hot damn, I'll be rich sooner than I expected. ", I threw my fist up in the air in excitement.

"However, allow me to put your dreams on hold, as for comparison sake, a piece of Cheddar cheese, which you have used just now for your hunt, costs 10 Gold per piece. ", Larry spoke.

My heart sank after hearing what Larry had spoke. "Oh. ", I uttered from my devastated state.

And with that new knowledge, all of a sudden, my dream seemed so much more further way, like the distance between Earth and Pluto. However, in retrospect, the day was soon coming to an end as the sun was setting, casting an orange hue over the now orange grass of the Meadow.

"Whatever it is, the sun's setting and I sure could use a proper bed to get a decent rest. Let's head back to the houses that I saw back in the Town of Gnawnia. Think there might be a resting inn or two around. ", I signalled Larry to bring forth the horses. But Larry did not budge an inch, but instead replied: "Unfortunately, we are not allowed to return to the Town of Gnawnia, given your Novice title.".

I immediately turned to Larry, "WHAT? YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO SLEEP HERE TONIGHT?"

Larry said no word, but gave a sad nod. That was when I learnt another hard fact about how things worked in this land: The lower your rank is, the less facilities you can access.


	3. Chapter 02: (The Return) Town of Gnawnia

**Chapter 02: (The Return) Town of Gnawnia**

Spending the night at Meadow was not necessarily a bad idea, if only we had a proper roof over our head, or some warm blankets to protect us from the chilly winds that blew in from the ocean sea, coming from the Harbour side, and towards land-bound. Larry, of course, was not affected by the dropping temperatures during the night, but then again, Larry is a machine while I am not. And the thought of becoming a machine myself was not all appealing to me. But one thing that I was thankful, was that it did not rain during any of the days that we have spent being here thus far.

Aside from the chilly winds that kept me awake during the very first night, I have also learnt that due to the magical property of the Hunter's horn, even when the horn is not ready to be blown, it still has some residue in between the last time I blew the horn, and until the time that it is fully recharged and ready to blow, to subtlety work in a very small and limited area of effect, and somewhat attract any mouse that happens to be within the proximity radius. Larry mentioned that the King's brilliant minds have ingeniously dubbed this phenomenon as "Trap Check", to which I also have to credit Larry for waking me up every hour on the very night because the "Trap Check" event had managed to cause a few accidental catches to be recorded: A couple of White Mouse, Grey Mouse and even a first-time Brown Mouse.

* * *

After almost two days and two nights out at the Meadow, I woke up from what was a well-rested sleep with zero interruptions as I had intentionally left my trap unbaited over the night as I did not want Larry to be waking me up every single hour due to the trap checks.

"Good morning, Roslean. I hope you had a good rest last night. ", Larry greeted me with his eyes closed, cross-legged, and his hands on his knees, like as though he was in a meditating zen-like position.

"You'd bet I did. Now that I didn't have you waking me up almost every hour in between for those trap checks. ", I replied in snarky tone.

I went over to where I had left my Mouse Hot Tub trap to put another piece of Cheddar on it. It still amazes me that the mice in this land just generally do not approach traps on their own, but only under the influence of the Hunter's horn. To which, it must be the credit of the King's brilliant minds to come up with a solution that maintains the harmony of the ecosystem while effectively keeping the infestation under control. I reached into my sling-pouch, and pulled out my Hunter's horn. It had a gentle glow of light emitting from it and was warm to touch, which, as Larry mentioned before, was the symptoms that the Horn was ready.

* * *

I sounded the Hunter's horn, and thus begin this strange feeling of time and space being dislodged from the rest of the area. I was definitely slowly getting used to the feeling but for now, it was still something that was prominent. The was some shrivelling noise amongst the grasses, and something popped out. And for a moment, I thought it was a giant fireball or something, because it was just shinning so darn bright, that it took me almost 10 full seconds just to adjust to the sight of it.

"Larry, what's the giant ball of light? I can't see it clearly and I'm about to go blind from it. ", I shouted to Larry for help.

"Oh? It seems that you have manage to attract a Diamond Mouse. "

"A Diamond Mouse? Like a mouse made of Diamonds?!", I shouted, as the inner greed of me resonated with the notion of how exquisite that diamonds generally are. As my vision adjusted to the light reflecting off the surface body of the Diamond Mouse, apparently, my volume had somehow made it focus on me instead of the Cheddar that was placed on my trap. I gulped, and asked Larry, "Uh... Larry? Remind me again if there have been cases reported of mice from this land attacking hunters?".

"There have been a total of 7 of such cases reported thus far, but from mice of regions not from where we are. ", Larry calculated with his fingers.

"Well, that's reassuring. Because I think I'm about to be case number 8 right here. ", I tried to respond in a manner as calm as I could make it. The Diamond Mouse still had its eyes fixated at me, as I gently tried to step away and create distance from it. However, it maintained the distance by inching closer for every step that I took a foot back. Time was running out for me, and I have to come up with something, somewhat and somehow.

* * *

My palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, fight or flight adrenaline ready. I reached for my sling-pouch, putting away the Hunter's Horn, and pulled out a piece of Cheddar in my hand. As I keeled down on my left knee to and placed my hand with the Cheddar in it on the ground, the Diamond Mouse observed and pondered for a couple of seconds before approaching the Cheddar in my hand slowly and cautiously.

"Look, buddy. I ain't gonna hurt you, and I don't want you hurting me too. So, just take the cheese, and we're cool. ", I told it. Thinking back now, I must have gone bonkers or something. Talking to a gosh darn mice, and treating it like as though it could understand me. But whatever it was, I was desperate, for my own life mostly, and desperate time calls for desperate measure.

The Diamond mouse looked up at me, then at the Cheddar in the palm of my hand. As it climbed onto my palm for the Cheddar, I tried my absolute best not to tremble as much as the moment was however nerve-wrecking, it took the Cheddar and in place, left a small satchel, before hoping off and ran back to the grass.

* * *

"Congratulations on your very first Diamond Mouse catch. ", Larry applauded as he walked towards me. "And also, for not being case number 8. ". I swear I could sense that he said the second-half with a smug on his face.

"Thanks for your wise words of encouragement as always, Larry. ", as I dusted my pants after all that kneeling down. "Also, what's this satchel suppose to be? "

"According to the global Larry's Loot Lexicon, it is a satchel of gold, which should contain 500 Gold. ", Larry pondered for a moment. "Throughout your venture, there are certain mice that will drop certain loot. Some of which might be useful in certain ways, such as creating new kinds of cheese, or crafting newer components. "

"Well, I'll sure be keeping an eye out for this kind of things. ", I replied while looking at my sling-pouch with a grin. "As long as this little boy can continue to hold up to whatever I'm going to be putting in next. ".

"Also, I have news from the King. He is pleased with your performance, and determined that you have gathered enough experience underneath your belt, and has therefore promoted you from the Novice rank to the Recruit rank. And with that promotion, you now have access to the Town of Gnawnia. Although, the more befitting term would be to "regain access" back to the Town of Gnawnia. ", Larry smirked while finishing up that last sentence.

"Wipe that smirk off your face before I help you too. ", I smirked back. Regaining access back to the Town of Gnawnia means that we will not have to worry about not having a shelter for our heads if the weather ever turns bad. "It's a darn shame: I was starting to enjoy this area too. ", sarcastically I mentioned. "However, all good times must come to an end. Let's pack it up and head back to the Town of Gnawnia. I could definitely use some better traps if I want to make sure that every single hunt counts for me. "

"I will be glad to do so. ", Larry replied, and walked off to fetch our horses from where we left them.

* * *

After leaving the Meadow and riding our way back to the Town of Gnawnia, I noticed that there was a stand near the entrance inside the walls surrounding the town itself. And beside the stand, there was a long board with many different leaflets pasted on the board itself. While I was partially drawn towards it, I was more captivated to the idea of getting a proper bed and my stomach filled with some actual grub. Not dissing on what the Meadow had to offer, but it was mainly toast with some grilled cheese, but served cold due to the time of consumption.

After managing to secure a room by the local inn, Larry and I both rested for a couple of hours before I was rudely awoken by sounds of stampeding horses.

"Larry... Shut that darn sound off! It's disrupting my sleep!", I shouted with annoyance as I try to stuff my ears with the sides of the pillow, folded in half.

"Sorry, Roslean. It is coming from the horse carriages that are fetching in the new Hunters to the King's Castle for their orientation. It is out of my control. ", Larry helplessly replied.

I tried in futile attempts to shut out the sound with as many layers of pillows and blanket that was available around me but it was useless. Fed up with the situation, I jumped out of bed, admitting defeat in this helpless and unavoidable situation, and washed myself up before heading out to explore the local shops.

* * *

The town itself did not have anything outstanding from what one would normally expect, well, of a town. But I did notice that there is a fair amount of harmony and cohesiveness, like as though everyone knew everyone and anyone. But to be fair, it would also be what one would expect for a town of this size. After exiting the inn where I had spent last night trying to get a full rest and recovery, only to be awoken by the stampede early on, it only took about less than 100 steps before reaching the local Trapsmith's store.

As soon as I entered the Trapsmith's store, a shadowy figure came rushing straight towards me, I instinctively whipped out my pocket knife from my back-pocket, which I was actually surprised that I still had it there all this time, flicked it open and pointed it towards the direction of shadowy figure, resulting it to perform a desperate maneuver to avoid my exposed pocket-knife, crashing face-first into the wall right beside the main entrance where Larry and I were standing.

The figure let out a loud groan as I went over to assist it in picking itself up with whatever grace that it had.

"Sorry about the whole knife thing. Was just being cautious that's all. ", I said while lifting the right arm over my shoulder.

"Ya got great instincts, that I'll give ya. ", it replied.

As daylight from the outside gave vision to its face, I could clearly see it was an elder man, probably about late 40s or 50s in age, big nose by the way, and had a nasty and rough looking shaved chin.

"The name's Stan. ", he said while rubbing his nose to sooth it after that great crash. "And welcome to my store. What can I do for you today?"

"I'm looking around to see if there's anything that might be my next trap. I've only got the Mouse Hot Tub and the Wooden Base right now. "

"Seems like ya ain't the cold-blooded type when hunting them mice, eh?"

"Well... I was gonna chose the Spring trap for the sense of familiarity to me but for the past week, my previous knowledge of mouse-hunting have been pretty much turned upside-down, so I ended up going with the Hot Tub instead. And, I'm still surprised how that thing is still able to work. "

"In that case, why not take a look at the Mouse Mary O'Nette?", Stan said as walked behind his counter and started fumbling around. I could hear things being moved around, from boxes being pushed and pulled from one side to another, and some metal objects clashing and thrashing about. After about a minute of what sounded like an out of tune contemporary band playing on whatever makeshift instruments that one could make out of with everyday materials, he placed what seems like a metal bird cage, and a mouse doll of a puppet.

"Here ya' go!", Stan exclaimed as he finally stood up after squatting behind the counter throughout the entire time he spent searching for it. "This is the Mouse Mary O'Nette. "

Now, if I were still good old me, I would have snapped at Stan and whined about how pathetic looking the trap is, and probably how "power-lacking" and "ineffective" it will be against mice. But to my surprise, I was actually more drawn towards seeing how it actually works, while Stan continued to explain the procedures to set it up. It did not take me long to know that I already my mind decided on what would be my next trap. But the only issue now is if I can afford it.

"Alrighty then. How much does this thing cost? ", I asked.

"6,250 Gold", Stan replied.

I hesitated for a moment, and Larry knew very well the reason why. Despite my fairly successful and short stint in the Meadow, I still did not have enough gold on hand, or more specifically in my sling-pouch, to purchase the trap.

"Ermmm... Do you happen to accept an I.O.U or any form of interest payment for purchases?", I asked Stan with possibly the widest, and creepiest I might add, smile that I could cringe my face into.

"No can do. No such thing as that, even if ya on the King's quest or what. ", Stan shook his head. "However, if ya need some gold, why not do some bounty-hunting? "

"Bounty-hunting?"

"Ya know that long board near the entrance of the town? There be loaded of posters of mouse with bounty on them head, or body, or whatever parts ya get them in. If ya caught one of them and bring it to the bounty person beside the board, they give ya gold for your work. ", Stan explained.

"Now, we're talking. ", I let a grin slipped from underneath.

Before I could say anything else, Larry started walking towards to door of the shop and pushed it open, and said "Roslean and I have things to do now so we will be taking our departure, but we will be back soon, will we not, Roslean?" with a wink at me to top it off.

"Of course, Larry. ", I walked towards the door that Larry held open. But before closing it, I turned my head around and gave Stan a finger-gun gesture. As the door closes behind us and shutting my view of Stan still behind the counter, I could see his smug as the view slowly shut away.


	4. Chapter 03: Town of Gnawnia

**Chapter 03: Town of Gnawnia**

Over the past few days, things were pretty smooth-sailing, if I were to say so myself. I had spent most of my waking hours working on some of the bounty-lists that Stan had mentioned while we were in his shop a few days back, and that Larry and I saw while returning back to this town almost a week ago. And when it was night time, I went back to the inn and left my trap baited throughout the night, while specifically instructing Larry to NOT wake me up during the hourly trap-checks.

I had found out the other day while chatting with some other hunters that were staying in the inn while still in town, a couple of things about the Larry knights themselves. For example, Larry knights cannot sound the Hunter's horn on behalf of their accompanied Hunter due to the conflict in the magical properties. When a Larry knight touches a Hunter's horn, the overpowering magic from the Larry knight itself will overpower the Hunter's horn and causing it to lose its magical property temporarily. However, Larry knights can interact with a Hunter's trap, such as assisting to replace the bait if it had gone stale. However, that was all the additional info that I had managed to dug out from the mass, which will prove ever-so-useful, now that I can have Larry helping out with the hourly Trap Checks while I get a proper rest during the night.

* * *

As for the bounty-lists themselves, they were pretty straightforward: You catch any of the mouse listed on the bounty-listing board, you bring it back to the person in-charge of maintaining the bounty-listing board, and they give you the gold reward respective of the mouse caught and brought back. So far, I had success with the Cowardly Mouse, Dwarf Mouse and Longtail Mouse, which gave me enough Gold to get the Mouse Mary O'Nette from Stan back at the Trapsmith. The next one that I was working on, is the Pugilist Mouse. As I had just finished replacing my Marble cheese on my trap as it had went stale after failing to attract anything from my previous attempt, and was about to sound my horn, I noticed that Larry was walking towards me.

"Roslean, I have noticed that your stock of Marble cheese has almost been depleted. Perhaps it is time to visit the local Cheese Shoppe to restock. "

"Oh? That soon? ", I replied while rummaging through the sling-pouch and I felt the materialisation of the remaining Marble cheese within my palm, which, according to my sense of touch, was only 1 piece remaining. "Seems like there's still a piece left inside here. " I pulled my hand out along with the remaining piece of Marble cheese within my palm. "Larry, how long till the next upcoming hourly Trap Check for me?", I asked while thinking of a plan.

"It would be due in another... 10 minutes. "

"Excellent. I've got a feeling that the bait on my trap is gonna attract something at least, and get eaten up. So, I'll use this last piece for the Trap Check, and then we'll drop by the Cheese Shoppe to get some more bait. "

"How certain are you that you will catch something in this hunt?", Larry gave a puzzled look.

"Just call it a gut feeling. "

I pulled out my Hunter's Horn, and the overlapping gentle glow wrapping around it with the gentle warmth at my fingertips with the subtle hum indicated that it was ready. I blew it and that dislocation feeling came forth once again. Unlike back in the Meadow whereby Mother Nature provides a suitable environment for mice to be hiding anywhere, the town had man-made structures like houses and taverns, so it was pretty much exposed unless a Hunter had chosen to hunt in between alleyways, which I am not entirely sure if there would be anything different, but I assume it would probably be attracting mice from the same population that resides in this Town itself.

I was eagerly waiting for something, or anything to drop-by. As seconds past, the feeling of dislocation was fading away as it space felt like it was being re-inserted back to the normal flow of time. Larry was about to say something when I turned around and gave him the look to shush. I could hear some tippy-taps, indication that something was approaching towards us. However, since we were somewhat in the open, it could come from any direction. I kept scanning around with my eyes until I saw something slowly appearing from the shadow of a small alleyway in between two houses, the width so small that could probably fit a regular sized house cat or something along that scale.

It was a mouse, but it had what seems like a moustache , and it was not even crawling; it was kind-of hopping around on its hind-feet instead, with its fore-feet at shoulder-level. It was like a boxer-stance but the moustache was almost half as big as its entire body. I turned to Larry with a confused look and whispered: "What's that thing, and what's with the mustachio?"

"That is a Pugilist Mouse. It behaviour is similar to what you might consider as a boxer, and is well-known to be quite capable at fist-fighting. The mustachio is like a distinct signature for it that it has even form their own mustachio guild. "

Even after listening to Larry's explanation, I was still quite flabbergasted by such a thing. Maybe it took to the behaviour after observing humans for an extended period of time? Back in my homeland, sure, boxing is an entertainment sports that has its black-and-white sides. But for a mouse to mimic such behaviours is really astounding. Meanwhile, the Pugilist Mouse made its way onto my base and right underneath the metal cage of the Mouse Mary O'Nette trap. Even while sniffing at the Marble cheese, it kept hopping around, and the subtle vibrations was enough to rattle the mechanism for the metal cage to drop down on it, trapping it inside. The sudden loud sound of the metal cage crashing on the floor startled it causing it to switch focus from the Marble cheese to the situation that it found itself in.

"Congratulations on your first Pugilist Mouse, Roslean. I assume you will want to turn that in for the bounty in exchange for the Gold?"

"Yep, that's right. If I remember correctly, this fella was listed for 1,000 Gold, which I'm sure will come in handy for some more cheese. "

As I went to pick up the Pugilist Mouse from my trap, I could clearly see that it was ready to pick a fight as it had clenched its paws into a fist-like shape, and had it pointed towards my face. I giggled before saying: "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you. ". To which, it then lowered its fist. Another thing that I am still surprised is that the mouse seems to be able to understand human language, for reason that I have yet to understand or find out.

As I lifted the metal cage high enough, it started to hop away in a hurry, until I shouted at it: "Hey, aren't you forgetting the cheese?". It stopped briefly before hopping back towards the Marble cheese, and started feasting on it. After it had finished in about 7 bites, I picked it up and placed it in my chest-pocket, which was like a kangaroo's pouch to it as it tried to make itself comfortable before falling asleep inside it.

* * *

Upon reaching the bounty-listing board, I went to find the person in-charge, who seemed to have fallen asleep while at post, with his arm supporting his head and eyes closed.

"Ahem. ", I cleared my throat, while trying not to be rude while trying to gave the person-in-charge a gentle awakening. However, it was more than enough to gave the person a sudden shock that they fell off their chair. They fumbled around to get everything that they had accidentally knocked over during the fall, back to order before attending to me.

"Oh yes! Hunter Roslean. Are you here again to turn in a bounty?"

"Yes, I am. "

As they flipped through a certain book that they had open in their right hand, their left finger stopped at a certain section in one of the pages.

"As per our record, the next bounty that you should turn in is for the Pugilist Mouse for 1,000 Gold. "

"And indeed I have it here. " I said while picking the Pugilist Mouse out of my chest-pocket and placing it on the table. The Pugilist Mouse was half-awake as it seemed like I had unintentionally awoken it from its sleep as well during the time spent inside my chest-pocket.

"Very well. I have taken note of the work done, and have updated your bounty progress. ", the person-in-charge said as they seem to have wrote done something in that book of theirs, before proceeding to hand me a satchel which they picked out from underneath their table, and I put it in my sling-pouch. "The next bounty in line will be the Flying Mouse. "

"Got it. I'll be back again soon. ", I said to them before Larry and I rode towards the Cheese Shoppe.

* * *

As Larry and I went in the supposed Cheese shoppe, I was immediately overwhelmed by the overpowering smell of cheese, that I could feel the denseness in the air. There was an someone sitting at the counter, reading what seemed like newspaper. I could clearly see the size 72 font on the front page titled "The Gnawnian Times". It was not long before I could not bear the nearly suffocating smell of cheese violently trying to get up in my nostrils and into my respiratory system, and whined: "Gosh dang, the smell of this place is so strong, I could die here from it. "

My abrupt and loud whine caught the attention of whoever that was sitting at the counter and behind the newspaper that resulted in the newspaper being lowered, which revealed there was a fairly below-average height lady. Our eyes met and locked for a few seconds before she put the newspaper away on her counter-top, got off what I would assume was the chair that she was sitting on, walked over and gave a slap on my back, laughingly said, "Oh boy! You sure know how to tell a joke!", before giving my back another slap.

While I was rubbing my poor back, which was aching from that double-slap that the lady gave, she finished her laughter before continuing.

"The name's Wendy! I'm in-charge of the Cheese Shoppe in this town. What can I do for you today?"

"How about opening a window or something first? Because I'm about to suffocate in this shop. ", I groaned as I stretched my back to make sure that it is still working.

"No can do. I don't want some random mouse to be wandering in here because of the smell. And I don't want the smell to be roaming out to affect any nearby hunters hunting. "

I was about to retort before thinking about what she had said, which did makes sense if we were to consider that the mice are still just mice at their core, even though there might be some magical property whatsoever.

"Uh... Okay. Fine. Anyway, I'm here to buy some more cheese because I'm all out of Marble cheese. "

"Alright then! Do you still want back the same Marble cheese? Or would you like to try some other cheese? We do sell Cheddar, Marble, Swiss, Brie cheese here. Of course, different cheese at different pricing and offers different attraction. "

"Uhh... I think I'll stick with just Marble for now. I'll be here for a little more only before moving somewhere else. Just need to get myself a Flying Mouse and probably one more of that. Larry, is there one more bounty mice after the Flying Mouse? ", I asked.

"According to my knowledge, yes, there should be one more bounty mouse after the Flying Mouse, although I am not allowed to reveal what it is. ", Larry replied.

"Wait. ", Wendy interrupted. "If you're going after the Flying Mouse, you won't be able to attract it with Marble though. "

I was sceptical at what Wendy had mentioned. For all I know, it could be her at an attempt to up-sell me one of her "more expensive" cheese. I asked, "How'd you know that? And if that's the case, what would work to attract it? "

"If I remembered correctly, a couple of Hunters came by recently to purchase Brie instead, and briefly mentioned about the Flying Mouse as well. I'm not sure if the Brie was successful or not but they did not return here since then so it might or might not be a sign. "

I pondered about what Wendy had mentioned. If that was really the case, and assuming that Brie indeed works for attracting the Flying Mouse, perhaps the Hunter that Wendy mentioned coming by recently might have finished the bounties and moved on, which would explain why they had not returned. But then it could also be that they might have bulk-purchased and is still somewhere around, still trying to attract the Flying Mouse till date. It was a gamble, a coin-toss.

After what seemed like a minute or two, I sighed. There was not really much to break the tie between either of the choices. I decided to bite the bullet.

"Alright, Wendy. Get me 30 pieces of Brie. You do accept refunds, right? ", I gave Wendy a good stare while awaiting her response, as she started to look around for a satchel before going to one of the drawer on the left-side of the room, from the entrance view facing in, and picked the Brie pieces with the tongs.

"Yeah, we do. Also, do let me know if this Brie works for attracting the Flying Mouse. That additional information might come in handy when selling it to future potential customers. ", she replied as she walked towards me and handed me a satchel. "Alright. Now, pay up. 6, 000 Gold pieces. ".

"Okay. Okay. Give me a moment. ", as I placed the satchel that she had placed in my hand into the sling-pouch, and pulled out 6 coin pieces, with each worth at least a thousand in currency, and placed it in Wendy's hand. It still amazes me how convenient that the currency in this land works. The coin itself does not change shape, size nor weight, but the insignia changes depending on the amount that is being taken out. Truly a great convenience that I was was available back in my homeland.

After placing the six coin pieces in the palm of her hand, I rolled her fingers to close her hand into a fist-clenching form, and had my hand over-wrapping her fist, I said in a snarky tone: "If the Brie doesn't work, I'll be back for my coins sooner than you can keep them. ". Wendy and I both laughed until Larry deliberately cleared his throat, trying to give a sign about something. Both Wendy and I got interrupted in our laughter, and looked at Larry in confusion when he did that. It was only until Wendy let out a soft "oh", then I realised that we were both still hands-clasped together. We both quickly broke-free of each other's hands and there was a moment of awkwardness and silence.

"I, uh, well, better get going then. Time to try out to see if this Brie cheese works for the Flying Mouse. I'll drop-by again soon if it works, or don't. ", I said to Wendy and I walked towards Larry and in the direction of the door.

"Y-yeah! Do drop by again soon! ", Wendy replied.

Before exiting, I turned and gave Wendy a smile before shutting the door.


	5. Chapter 05: Town of Gnawnia (End)

After the departure from Wendy's Cheese Shoppe, Larry and I rode around the town, looking for a wide-open space that would be ideal for Flying Mouse to appear from. Tall buildings with easy to access ledges, tall trees with branches, anything that would provide a nice buffer height for that critter to fly down.

At last, I found a nice spot beside the King's castle entrance, which was surrounded by some trees and several tall chimneys from some surrounding houses. The area of attack was wide, spacious and visible from all direction. I setup my Mouse Mary O'Nette trap and baited it with the Brie cheese that I just bought recently from Wendy's shop, before retreating back to where Larry was, just beside our horses. I pulled out my Hunter's Horn and sounded it.

The space-time dislocation feeling came down upon me, and I eagerly await for some kind of result. I was looking around at high heights, to see if any Flying Mouse was nearby and might be attracted to it. No sight of it around the rooftops or chimneys, nothing. I continued to scan around as the dislocation feeling fades away. After about a minute later, nothing happened. Not even a mouse wandered near the trap.

"Seems like the Brie cheese failed to attract anything. ", Larry said.

"Thank you for that confirmation, Mr. Obvious. ", I replied in a snarky tone.

"Well, you might want to replace your bait since it seems to have gone stale. "

"Wait. What do you mean stale? It has barely been out of the bag for an hour, or even half a day from Wendy's shop!", I exasperated as I made my way towards my trap to confirm what Larry had just said. But sure enough, in place of the Brie cheese that I had placed barely 5 minutes ago, lies a pile of some goopy-thing. I tried to scope it up and thankfully it still had a solid-enough structure to stay together and not just drip through the cracks in between my fingers. "Larry! What the heck am I supposed to do with this pile of goop?"

"Well, you can keep it in your inventory. It is a material of crafting after all. "

"How am I suppose to keep this pile of goop in the sling-pouch?! Am I suppose to just pour it in or something?!"

"If I recall, there are some vials that you can use to store them in. ", Larry pondered for a moment.

"Then help me get one of it out of my sling-pouch! I'm a little busy on the hands right now, can't you see?"

"Oh. Right. Give me a moment. ", Larry stuttered for a moment before reaching his hands into my sling-pouch, pulling out a vial and uncapped the opening for me to pour the stale cheese goop into it.

"Thanks, Larry. We should probably head back to the inn for now since the sun is setting and I sure would like to get this stench of stale cheese off my hands. "

Larry nodded and went to fetch our horses as I packed my trap back into my sling-pouch.

* * *

On the way back to the inn, we rode past Wendy's Cheese Shop, and despite that I wanted to drop by and tell her about the failure of the Brie cheese attempt, I felt it would not be appropriate given the stench that was literally at my finger tips. Even the horse that I was riding on started to show some temper as it was clearly aware of what went through my hands and wanted nothing of that close to its mane. Larry could not stop snickering every time my horse acted up a little when it felt my hands was too close to its mane.

After a proper wash-up and some actually edible grub for dinner, Larry and I were both in our room, with Larry sitting by the round table and deeply entranced in polishing his armour, and I lying on the bed wondering about the Flying mouse, and how to actually catch it. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed by today's attempt despite Larry's numerous attempt at consolidating me that Brie does provide a better attraction as compared to the other cheese that I have been using in the past, and that even Wendy herself has supported that too. Just that it was still a little of a defeating blow to burn the very first Brie by not only failing to attract anything, and it just going stale so quickly.

What was lacking? What could I have done? What can I do to improve my setup? More power? More "freshness", if that is even a thing? As I shut my eyes for a brief moment, I fell into a deep sleep, only to find myself awoken by Larry in the morning. After washing up and eaten the breakfast provided by the inn while catching up with Larry over what happened to my trap overnight, I decided to pay Wendy a visit to give her an update of what was the result of the Brie cheese attempt yesterday.

As I entered Wendy's Cheese Shoppe, she was, as expected, hidden behind the newspaper that she had held up and was reading. I decided to be a little mischievous and tried my best to creep as stealthy as possible while asking Larry to keep an eye out of her and if any customer was about to come in. Slowly and with maximum stealth that I could pull out, I managed to creep my way to the front of the counter without Wendy noticing anything as she continued reading her newspaper. I reached my hand into my sling-pouch and pulled out a piece of Brie cheese that I had bought from her yesterday, and tossed it high and over the newspaper, over her head and landed behind her.

As the Brie cheese landed, it made a small thud that was loud enough to draw her attention. She put the newspaper away onto the counter and got off her seat to pick up the Brie cheese that landed behind her, but as she did that, I swiped away the newspaper from the counter, to which when she returned to her original position on the chair and was looking for her newspaper as it had "mysteriously vanished". She even let out a short "Huh. What. " while searching for it, which caused me to puffed out a split-second of air as I tried my best not to laugh. But I could not keep it in any longer and I jumped into her vision, giving her a sudden shock which caused her to let out a loud scream and instinctively slap me in my face so hard that I fell down to the floor on my right side.

It was only a split-second later that Wendy realised it was me and came forward from the counter to help me up while apologising.

"Oh my gosh, Roslean! I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry. I didn't know it was you. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to visit the town's healer? "

"Yeah, I'm fine. No worries about that. ", I replied while rubbing my sore left-cheek from that rough slap. "It was my fault for trying to prank you. Anyway, I came here to give you an update after yesterday's very first attempt with the Brie cheese. "

"Oh great! So how did it went? "

"Nothing. I failed to attract anything and it just went straight into a stale cheese. ", I replied as I pulled out the vial of stale cheese from yesterday, and handed to Wendy as she studied the vial for a brief moment before handing it back to me.

"Hhmmm... Guess that was a little unlucky for your very first attempt. But do keep the stale cheese though. I heard from relatives that they can some times be used to craft into more useful cheese. "

"That's what Larry said as well right after my attempt. Speaking of which, I was wondering if you know of anything that I could do have a better chance against the Flying mouse? Or at the very least not burn through the Brie cheese? It's rather expensive, thanks to a certain someone. ", I asked with a smug.

Wendy instinctively gave my shoulder a light whack for making fun of her, "Hey. That's the price that was approved by the King so if you have a problem with that, you can speak to the King. But anyway, I'm not too sure what can power-up your trap though. You might be better off asking Stan, the local Trapsmith, for advice on that. But what I can tell you is that stale cheese is usually a by-product of not attracting anything, and the freshness of your setup. So, if I were to avoid too many of my cheese from going stale, I would look into a setup that is fresh enough to maintain it while not entirely forsaking the power to catch, of course. Else, you'd not just end up burning your cheese; you'll just end up having it taken away from you instead. "

"Well, in that case, guess I'll go pay good old uncle Stan a visit to see what he can do about my trap. I'll drop by again soon and give you an update of what happened next. "

"Sure thing. But next time round, please don't try that again before you get to balance what happened to your left-cheek. ", Wendy snickered.

"I sure hope I don't have to go through all of that again. You should probably install a bell or something that'll alert you when some one enters. Who knows? Maybe it might alert you when a mouse sneaks through the main door to enjoy a feast in here. ", I retorted before Larry and I exited the shop.

* * *

"Back already, ya boy?", Stan greeted as Larry and I entered the shop. "Time for another upgrade, hmmm? "

"Well, that depends. I'm actually here to ask for some of your advice. ", as I pulled out the Mouse Mary O'Nette trap and assembled it on the counter.

Stan looked at it briefly, "Ah. What trouble are ya in this time?"

"I'm looking at how to increase my chances of catching the Flying mouse, without burning too much of my Brie cheese. Tried one attempt yesterday and not only did I fail to attract anything, my cheese staled as well. "

"Well, me would of course recommend my best powerful and expensive trap I have in me store, but ya too low on gold for that. "

"Is there anything else that I can do without breaking another hole in my gold? "

"Maybe ya can get something that might help with attracting them mouse. ", to which Stan started digging through some of his boxes behind his counter.

"Whatever that is, I hope it isn't too expensive. The Brie cheese itself is already costing quite a fair bit so if I'm gonna blow another load on another component, I'll be damned. "

"It ain't gonna be too money-breaking for ya. ", as Stan finally emerged from underneath his counter with what seemed like a wooden plank board, but with a shooting target arrow circle painted on one end of it. "This Wooden Base, with Target, can help ya, and is pretty cheap too!", as he laughed a little at the end.

"This thing? How does it differ from the wooden base that I already have? Aside from the painted target circle on it, of course?"

"Oi ya boy! Don't see little of this thing! This has been guaranteed to increase ya attraction rate by 20%!"

"Wait. You mean just buy painting a target circle on it will increase the attraction rate? I mean, I could have done it myself with a little paint instead of buying from you. "

"But this ain't done by some nobody like you; It's created by the King's minds so it's definitely promised to work. ", Stan retorted in a snarky manner and he was right. So far, most of the things that was created by the King's brilliant minds have been working to a certain degree.

"Fine. How much for this thing? "

"It'll cost ya 1,225 gold. Pretty cheap eh? "

"Huh. Indeed it is. I'm surprised that it's not as expensive as I thought it was going to be. ", I replied as I tried to dig out the gold coins from my sling-pouch.

"It is very cheap as compared to the best, powerful and most expensive-"

I interrupted Stan before he could continue, "Yes, I know. And I'll probably be back again later once I have enough for that. Anyway, thanks for the advice and I'll see you again later. ". I left the gold coins on the table and ran out of the store with Larry waiting outside.

"That was faster than I thought it was going to take you. ", Larry said.

"Well yeah. Because Stan has a tendency to talk about his most expensive trap he has in his shop, and listening to it isn't gonna help me afford it. "

"You do have a point on that. So, where are we headed now? "

"Well, now that we have something new to try out, why not head back to yesterday's spot since it was kinda nice and ideal for both the Flying mouse and us, to ensure we snag it. "

"Very well. ", Larry nodded before both of us rode back to the spot from yesterday.

* * *

Upon reaching the area, I could see several other hunters with the same idea in mind, and probably with the same target as well. Any hunter with common sense would pick this spot for it being so optimal. But luckily, the spot that I had selected yesterday was still unoccupied, for now. I rushed to that area on my house to ensure that no one will be able to barge in and takeover, with Larry giving chase at the back. I got off my horse and told Larry that I was going to setup my trap before joining him at wherever he plans to park our horses. With several hunters being somewhat close proximity, a question came to my mind if it would disrupt or interfere with each other since we all happen to be just that close. In fact, it was even closer in proximity as compared to those days spent in the Meadow.

Anyway, I was more curious to see how things would play out now that I have the Wooden Base with Target, or so Stan called it, which is essentially the Wooden Base but with a target circle painted on it. Maybe the greatest Painter in entire Gnawnian region was ordered by the King to Wooden Bases with magical paint or something. But then again, painting hundreds and thousands of Wooden Base is not what I would call as a profession nor fun thing to do. As I was about to finish assembling the Mouse Mary O'Nette on top of the Wooden Base with Target, I could hear several Hunter's Horn going off nearby. Everyone was looking at everyone else's trap to see who was the lucky Hunter to get the jackpot of catching the Flying mouse. I was certainly distracted to see what was their result, but at a distance, of course. To be more precise, I was waiting to hear anyone lucky enough as they would clearly give a shout in joy, just typical human reaction.

With my Mouse Mary O'Nette ready to drop its cage over the Wooden Base with Target, I withdrew a piece of Brie cheese from my sling-pouch, placing it right smack the red circle of a bulls-eye and retreated back to where Larry was. Larry gave me a thumbs-up as I approached towards him, to which I responded the same. I pulled out my Hunter's Horn, took a deep breath and blew it.

_**Tu-tuhhhh**_

I waited patiently for any signs of movement while glancing around in the sky. The weather was calm with no winds whatsoever, so any movement could be easily noticed. 5 seconds passed, still nothing. 10 seconds passed and still silence. Right as I was about to give it up and check on the Brie cheese to see if it had turn stale or is still usable for another round, something leapt out from one of the nearby tree. It was then I saw my very first Flying mouse. Like an acrobat, it glided down towards the Brie cheese and landed directly within the circle target. In fact, it was more towards a landing pad if I could repaint it into a circle with a big 'H' in the middle of it.

It was clearly not interested in the doll of the Mouse Mary O'Nette but just the Brie cheese itself, just like I was interested in catching it. As it enjoyed the Brie cheese, I was entranced by it, wondering if this mouse came to be from a natural evolution or some mismanaged mutation of science. As it finished its last bite of the Brie cheese, it started to flap its wings, which caused the string attached to the Mouse Mary O'Nette doll to be triggered, dropping the metal cage over and trapping it in my trap as it was about to fly out. I was not sure if that counted as a catch so I shouted for Larry to come over.

"Well, technically it does count as a catch. So, congratulations on your very first and successful catch of the Flying mouse. ", Larry congratulated with a single clap. "So, do you want to head back and turn in this mouse for the bounty reward?"

"I'm not too sure, Larry. It feels a bit of a pity just to turn this majestic creature in. "

"So what do you plan to do with it? "

"I think... I'm just gonna let this one go. If I happen to catch another one, I'll turn it in. But this one, for just this once, I'll let it go. "

"Well, it is you call. But it has been recorded so you are free to do whatever you wish. "

"Thanks Larry. "

I lifted the metal cage high enough to let it crawl out of the metal cage, which it soon flew off back into the trees. I was not too sure what came over me, but I felt like that was entirely my choice and I have no regrets for that.

* * *

Over the next few hunts, I noticed that I was getting more mice attracted to my trap, which is a sign that of the attraction bonus in comparison of the Wooden Base with Target as compared to the regular Wooden Base. In total, I managed to nab two Brown mouse, one Pugilist mouse, one Steel mouse and another Flying Mouse, which I turned in for the bounty. However, my initial supply of Brie cheese was close to being totally depleted and I was looking to complete the final bounty mouse: Speedy Mouse.

It was Deja Vu all again as I was down to 2 pieces of Brie cheese left, both my trap check and Hunter's Horn was about to be ready back-to-back so I only had barely a minute in between to make sure it chains smoothly. Larry had picked up the hobby of carving wooden figurines out of near branches that were thick enough to be used as the base material. As I returned from baiting my trap for the second last time before retreating to join Larry, I could see that he was almost done carving out the face of a Steel mouse from the thick branch.

"Quite impressive work there, Larry. ", I praised.

"Thank you, Roslean. It is after all my 35th attempt at it. ", Larry responded with pride. "Looking to get lucky with your final 2 pieces? "

"Yes. It's all Deja Vu again. And I'm pretty sure I'll snag it. "

"All the best then. Hope it works out like last time. "

I pulled the Hunter's Horn out of my sling-pouch and gave it a blow.

_**Tu-tuhhhh**_

Just barely a second later, I saw a mouse dashing out of nowhere, and at speeds comparable to an adult human's running speed. Without a doubt, that is surely the Speedy Mouse, a befitting name nonetheless. It dashed around for a bit before stopping at my trap to examine the Brie cheese. It took a good sniff of the aroma before lifting the cheese off the base. As it was about to take a bite, its attention shifted to the Mouse Mary O'Nette doll. Seemingly infatuated by the looks of the doll, it placed the Brie cheese back on the base and decided to take a closer look at the doll instead. Just as it went to lift the doll's arm, the movement of vibration triggered the trap, causing the metal cage to drop down. Almost feels like a life-lesson there. With the cage slamming down against the ground, it startled the Speedy mouse that it started to run around inside the cage in a panic.

"Impressive luck you have there. ", Larry remarked.

"Yeah. And that's probably beginners luck, since I'm pretty sure I would still be considered a beginner. ", I replied as I started to make my way towards my trap to turn in the Speedy mouse. Sure enough, it was still in a panic state as I approached it. "Relax. I'm not gonna hurt you. Just eat the cheese first and then we'll decide on what to do with you later. ", I spoke towards it. It calmed down a little, which was just enough for it to consume the Brie cheese. I even offered my final Brie cheese, which I had originally planned to use it for the hourly Trap Check, to the Speedy mouse to calm it down further, which worked. As I lifted up the metal cage with my right hand, it slowly crawled out through the gap. I put my left hand down for it and it climbed aboard. I gave it a little scratch on its head behind the ears before putting it in my chest pocket. Larry had brought the horses ready and I packed my trap back into my sling-pouch before both of us rode towards main entrance of the town to turn in the bounty.

* * *

Right after I turned in the Speedy mouse for its bounty, Larry suddenly stopped in his tracks, which caused me to bump into his back, which felt more like bumping into a statue because of his armour.

"Larry! What did you suddenly stop? ", as I tried to smooth my sore nose from the bump.

"I have received an update from the King's castle. The King would like to congratulate you on your promotion, from the Recruit rank, to the Apprentice rank. And with that promotion, you are now granted access to the King's Arms, Tournament Hall, and Windmill. "

"Oh sweet. But first, I'll need to visit Stan to see if I can finally afford his prize trap, and Wendy to stock up on some more Brie cheese. This Brie cheese paired with the Wooden Base with Target sure does work like a sick combo. "

"But of course, the Brie cheese after all, has the highest attraction rate for the local mouse as compared to any of your past cheese, and the Wooden Base with Target just boosts it by so much more. "

"Wait a second. Larry, you knew all of this didn't you? Why'd you not tell me from the get-go? ", I gave Larry a glare.

"That was because I am not authorised to tell you more than what you needed to know. Do not forget that I can only provide answers that have been vetted beforehand by the King's brilliant minds. Sometimes, knowing less is better than knowing more. ", Larry responded with a wink.

"Yes, yes. You and the King's brilliant minds. Sometimes I really wonder if they're so brilliant, why had they not thought an idea for the King's mouse problem?"

"Oh, but they already did, Roslean. Look at yourself. "

For a moment, I was confused as to why Larry told me to look at myself. It was only a second later that I realised what he meant: MouseHunters. I gave Larry a whack on his left arm, "Smarty-ass. ", to which Larry just continued laughing as we walked away from the Bounty Board Booth, and discussed about where would be our next destination.


End file.
